Chapter 49

Ellery

Leaves and dirtkicked out beneath its paws when it landed a few feet away and skidded to a halt. Before it could turn back to us, Ryker unleashed a blast of lightning across the ten feet separating us.

It crashed into the creature and flung it into the trees. The smoke rising from the bushes still settling into place was the only sign of it.

Ryker's head twisted around as he searched for more, and I turned to search another section of woods. Nothing stirred, but the rank scent of sulfur still hung in the air from the bodies scattered around us.

As the seconds ticked past and nothing else attacked, I became increasingly aware of the heat of the man on top of me. He was massive when standing next to me, but now, he was impossibly big yet… right.

I had to get out of this situation, but I was afraid to move as his thigh was between my legs, and he'd planted his hands beside my head. Movement would bring me closer to him, something I was determined to avoid.

I really, really am trying to avoid it.

But as I told myself this, it took everything I had not to wiggle closer to him or rest my hands against his chest to explore the muscle beneath his shirt. My heartbeat increased, and my mouth went dry as I dug my fingers into the soft earth to keep from reaching for him.

This close, I could see the black stubble lining his jaw and smell the enticing aromas of cinnamon and horse beneath his sweat. He smelled as alluring as he looked.

Recalling me there, Ryker's head lowered, and his gaze locked on mine. When he drew on his lightning-bearer ability, it had turned the entirety of his eyes a stormy black.

A single lightning bolt split the middle of those black eyes before the color faded and was replaced by their normal, beautiful mercury hue. This close, I could see the lighter flecks of silver in his eyes.

I'd been told by my parents that my eyes turned black, too, when I drew on the lightning, but its effects on him entranced me. Electricity still crackled against my skin, or maybe that was my body's response to having him so close.

Either way, it felt amazing as his presence warmed me from head to toe. I wanted to tell him to get off me; it would be the smart thing to do, but my tongue wouldn't work. I was sure I'd find a way to use it again if he kissed me.

His impossibly silver eyes filled with a hunger that made my nipples tingle and my body come alive in response. I didn't have a whole lot of experience with men. There had been that stolen kiss with Callan and some other instances with a few other boys, but not much more.

I'd always been too busy at the manor or lost in the woods to have much time for teen relationships. Then, the Ghoul War happened, and many men left to fight; I lost my father, and life became more about the manor.

Ryker wasn't a boy, and I had no doubt he wouldn't fumble anything.

I'd had many bad ideas in my life, but not stopping this would be my worst, and I didn't care. When his thumb stroked my bottom lip, a tremor ran down my spine; my toes curled in their boots.

His thumb against my skin was a strange sensation that made my breath catch. Anticipation hammered inside me, and if I could move my hands, I would have grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to kiss him, but I still couldn't move.

What are you thinking? You can't possibly be this stupid.

It would complicate everything, but I'd give all to know what it was like to kiss this man. As his mouth lowered toward mine, I closed my eyes and gave myself over to the moment I was certain I'd live to regret, but I'd regret it more if I let it slip away from me again.

When his lips touched mine, electricity sizzled through me. This time, it had nothing to do with the lightning Ryker and I could control.

I knew what it felt like to pull lightning from the earth and sky, and this was not the same. It was something far more.

His lips were tender against mine, a small brush that ignited something within me. And like a fire, the flames he'd sparked wouldn't be satisfied with staying confined as they sought more.

As if he knew what I craved, he deepened the kiss. His lips pressed more firmly against mine, demanding more.

Unable to move my hands to stop him, they now easily slid through his soft, thick hair as I pulled him closer. When his tongue brushed my lips, my mouth instinctively parted for him.